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Walt Disney Pictures has come a long way from making full-length animated features like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, and Peter Pan. In the 21st century, the company has reinvented itself with live-action blockbusters like Pirates of the Caribbean, state-of-the-art computer animated films like Cars and Frozen, and adaptations of children’s literary classics like Roald Dahl’s The BFG and Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time (out in theaters this March). In recent years, Disney has expanded into more lucrative markets like comic book blockbusters (ie. Marvel comics) and, of course, the Star Wars franchise. The latest Star Wars entry, The Last Jedi, hit the $1 billion mark in worldwide box office sales barely three weeks after its US theatrical release. With a plethora of material to work with, and plenty of money coming in, one would think Disney is far passed its tipping point, but that might not be the case at all. Continue reading →

Kay Graham (portrayed by Meryl Streep in Spielberg’s film) was the acting publisher of The Washington Post at the time. She inherited the role of sole proprietor following her husband’s untimely death by suicide. Graham not only faced a board of all-male stock holders who were ready to oust her at any moment, but also a more hostile-than-friendly editor named Ben Bradlee (portrayed by Tom Hanks), who reportedly informed her that he’d give his left nut to run the Post, himself. Shortly after Graham came into her new position, Martin Weil (Better Call Saul‘s Bob Odenkirk) was sent to meet with Ellsberg to collect the top secret documents in Boston and transport them safely back to Washington. Continue reading →

This May will mark the 30th anniversary of acclaimed writer/director John Hughes‘ iconic tribute to truancy, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Like most of Hughes’ films, the movie was filmed in Chicago, where the director was from, and features some of the city’s most memorable sites, including Wrigley Field, Calder’s Flamingo in downtown’s Federal Plaza, and Von Steuben Day, during which Ferris hijacked a parade float and led the city in a fanfare of The Beatles‘ Twist and Shout. To celebrate, the city of Chicago is planning an all out Ferris Fest celebration on the weekend of May 20th-22nd, which will feature a bus tour that follows Ferris’s “tour de Chicago” on that day off. There will also be a recreation of Ferris’s bedroom, and fans will get the chance to sit in Ferris, Cameron, and Sloane’s seats in Wrigley Field. The day will wrap with a screening of the movie at Hughes Theater. Thus far none of the original lead actors, namely Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, and Mia Sara, have committed to making an appearance, but the event organizers are still hopeful at least a few of them will make an appearance. If you’re a fan of the movie, or just want an excuse to visit Chicago for the weekend, be sure to mark your calendar for the event. Tickets will most likely be sold in advance, but so far as we know they are not yet available. Check back for more updates.

With Breaking Bad now airing its final season on AMC, screenwriter George Mastras is now in talks to adapt author Dean Unkefer’s 90 Church: The True Story of the Narcotics Squad From Hell. The novel is a fictionalized account of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics unit in New York City that tackled drug trafficking and organized crime from the 1960s to the early 1970s. Rupert Sanders, who directed Snow White and the Huntsman, is set to take on the project with Universal Pictures. Mastras received an Emmy nomination for his work on the fifth season of Breaking Bad, and will apparently have plenty of material to work with as the novel encompasses the entire operation of informants and under-the-table deals. The novel is set to hit stores this September, so a film project may still be a ways away, but with Mastras behind the wheel it may pick up speed sooner than we think.